Star Crossed
by Figurly
Summary: Brynn and Hanso have to choose to save their own life or the other's. How will their choices change the course of their life? Brynnso, leads up to TFR. NOTE: Postponing next update, will be on the road for a few days
1. Chapter 1

Another beautiful day rises in Brightvale, covering the land of books and stained glass in warmth. A certain young thief stood outside, breathing in the freedom and fresh air. Having escaped the dungeons once again, he was re-assured of his ability to avoid any trouble he could ever run into, and so was trotting rather openly through the streets, headed back towards the Thieves' Guild.

Meanwhile, a Kougra hides her smile as she stares into the empty cell that last night held a prisoner. She had gotten used to his tactics by now, and in fact if he was still there she would have been thoroughly surprised. So, while others ran around looking for him, she sat back, wondering how, and if, she would see him today.

This was how their lives were, day in and day out, and they never expected it to change. Being friends was okay, because what more was there to have? How could the ritual ever get old, when it was safer than trying to move forward?

Destiny had other plans.

Life changes unexpectedly. So, it was on this beautifully normal day that Kanrik approached Hanso with a request. They weren't exactly on good terms after the Ixi had stolen from him, but the Guild Leader had to admit that Hanso had talent. It was with this in mind that the Gelert recruited him.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

Hanso practically jumped out of his fur as soon as he heard the deep voice. The bag of neopoints he had been holding dropped and clattered all over the floor. The Ixi thief plastered on his cheeky grin (albeit a bit more nervous-looking than usual) and turned around. "Hello, Kanrik." He said.

The Guild Leader wasted no time with formalities, instead heading straight to the point. "The bumbling fool King Hagan has ordered a new crown, seeing as his current is over a month old, and is having it sent to him Sunday."

"And you're telling me this because…?" Hanso asked, even though he had a very good idea, and was praying that he was wrong about it.

"Why, I want you to lead the raid to steal it, of course." He smiled, since they both knew what a mission like this entailed. "Bring along who ever, I don't care. I want a working plan by tomorrow." With those as his parting words, Kanrik left the shabby room.

After a few minutes of silence, Hanso sighed. "Ah," He muttered, the grin evaporating off his face, "So this is how he intends to kill me."

-x-

"It's been three months since my last patrol! I told you, there is nothing going on between me and Han- the thief!" Brynn quickly corrected herself, realizing how bad mentioning his name would be, considering the situation. She felt bad about lying, but Hanso was just a friend, and he wasn't like all the other thieves. And if it came to it, she would pick the guard over him, right?

"We know." The yellow grarrl in front of her sighed.

"You don't know! Wait, you know?"

"Yes," The grarrl's tone lightened a bit now that he had her attention, "We checked into the rumors and found that there is nothing suggesting a connection between you and the criminal in question. Your patrols should presume sometime in the next week."

Brynn, ignoring the bit of guilt the gnawed at her, smiled. "Really? That's great! Thanks!"

"Yes, yes. And to make up for the time you've lost, you have been appointed the leader of the guards who shall be escorting King Hagan's new crown to the castle. Congratulations."

The Kougra didn't even bother to hide her excitement, "W-What an honor! Thank you so much, sir! I promise I won't let you down!"

"I hope not, Brynn…" The grarrl sighed, now at his desk, looking over the enormous evidence of Brynn and Hanso's friendship, "For your own sake, I hope not."


	2. Chapter 2

They both had their excuses when it came to their relationship. For Brynn, she told herself she only kept tabs on Hanso because he was a thief. Hanso had to steal, he was in the Thieves Guild after all, and if Brynn always "happened" to be patrolling the places he was stealing from it wasn't his fault.

Unfortunately, they could only lie to themselves so much.

There were no excuses as Hanso sought out Brynn. He wasn't sure if he'd even be able to find her; it had been weeks since their last meeting.

The Kougra in question was currently stressed. The initial happiness she had felt when recruited to lead the mission had disappeared and been replaced with fear. Was she truly cleared of the suspicions surrounding Hanso? What if she failed? Would she lose her job?

She hadn't been allowed outside before, but now that the investigation was over, Brynn had decided to walk around town. While she may not be on patrol, she could still defend Brightvale even if it was off-time.

There was also the chance of meeting Hanso, but she promised herself that wasn't the reason why she was going.

It was hard to hunt down one Neopet in a large city, especially if you had no idea where she would be, Hanso decided. After walking down Brynn's usual patrol spot for the umpteenth time, he was ready to give up. But of course, that was the moment he saw her.

"Brynneth!" The thief hissed, tapping her on the shoulder. Brynn pulled out her sword and swung around in a reflex, but luckily for Hanso she was fast enough to stop herself before she hit him. "Geez, don't kill me." He muttered, though he was happy to see her.

"Well don't sneak up on me like that!" She rebuked, putting her sword back in its holder, "And if we're going to talk, we should probably get out of the marketplace."

Before he could argue, Brynn had grabbed hold of his arm and started pulling him away from the busier parts of the city, into a place that looked more like an area thieves would hang around rather than guards. "Uh, Brynn?" Hanso called, unsure of why she was doing this.

"I know we usually talk in the open but I've been in trouble lately for doing that." She explained, finally stopping and letting go of his arm. "Sorry. Nice to see you again, by the way." She added quickly.

"Oh, yeah. You too." Hanso shifted uncomfortably. He was a relatively un-selfish thief, and after hearing that he had caused her so much trouble he was unsure if he could ask for help now, especially since it would require risking her job even more. He hadn't considered that Brynn might get in trouble if she helped him smuggle the king's crown away.

"But great news! I get to lead a mission this Sunday! Of course, I can't tell you what it is-!"

"Sunday?" Hanso shouted, cutting her off.

Brynn looked at him quizzically, "Yes…" She said, drawing it out almost as though it were a question.

"Oh, sweet Fyora." Hanso muttered, running a hand through his hair, "_I'm _leading a mission on Sunday."

The situation was immediately understood. And almost as immediately, the arguments started flowing.

"Well if I don't finish the assignment I may lose my job!"

"Kanrik will kill me if I don't get that crown!"

"You're just being over-dramatic! Again!"

"A-Again? Brynn!" Hanso shouted, flabbergasted at her. Didn't she understand the weight of the Thieves Guild's threats? Surely, she of all people knew that criminals were no joke? "You have to help me," He continued, "You _know _Kanrik hates me, he's probably using this stupid mission as an excuse to get rid of me!"

"Couldn't he just do that himself?" Brynn pointed out, crossing her arms with a smug look, as though she had crushed all of Hanso's excuses.

"Of course he could." Hanso said nonchalantly, "But think about it Brynn, it'd look better officially if he had a reason, don't you think?"

The Kougra frowned, deep in thought now. Of course what Hanso was saying made sense, but who was to say that if they caught her helping him they wouldn't kill _her _for being a traitor? She sighed, "This is a mess."

The sun was sinking below the horizon now, and the two neopets had stopped their fighting. Only sadness remained now as they realized they had to choose between themselves or their only friend. Brynn almost felt like crying.

They sat silently together until nightfall, when they said their goodbyes and went home.

By then, they had both made their choices, for better or worse.


	3. Chapter 3

There was never a time Brynn's helmet felt as heavy as this. She stared at herself in the clean, though rather small, mirror, another of the new things she had been able to get with her job's budget. It wasn't much, but it was still much more than what most of the people she grew up with were used to. The Kougra felt like a princess, even though her room was still rather dingy.

And yet, she felt horrible for it. Her thoughts were far from the new things in her room that morning; instead she couldn't get Hanso out of her mind. It just wasn't fair that this should happen to them, and that they were forced to choose between each other or themselves.

Brynn wasn't one to lose her temper, but at that moment she took her helmet and threw it across the room for all it was worth. All she could do now was cry.

-x-

The plans he was telling them were much different than the ones in his mind. The small group gathered in front of him with wide eyes, surprised they were even being considered for such a task. But Hanso hadn't chosen them for skills, rather, he had chosen them for their lack thereof.

"And, uh, just try your hardest." He hadn't spent much time on the fake plan, truthfully, but the few neopets in front of him didn't seem to care about the lack of direction. As they chattered between themselves, Hanso pulled out his notes and looked over them again.

It was going to be a long day.

-x-

She would like to say that knowing there would be an attack today made the job easier, but it only seemed to put her that much more on edge. Brynn had forewarned everyone else so now they were jumpy as well. Why was Hanso taking so long to jump out of the bushes? It would make everything so much easier if he would just hurry up and show himself. Waiting was torture.

The castle was in sight now, letting Brynn relax her shoulders a bit. Everything was going to be okay. Hanso wasn't going to attack. The Grarrl would see that they weren't a part of a conspiracy and-

"Brynneth! We're under attack!"

Her heart sank as she spun around with her already drawn sword. She could see Hanso running down the hill with a group behind him. His expression was unreadable as he ordered the others to run ahead of him.

The sound of clashing weapons rang throughout the air. Brynn was barely paying attention to everyone else, she was too busy running towards the Ixi leading the whole raid. He looked as though he was about to say something. She didn't give him the chance.

He ducked quick enough to avoid the danger Brynn was swinging at him with full force. Fighting off the natural action to grab for his dagger, Hanso threw his hands up above his head. "Geez, Brynneth, no need for the violence! I'm trying to help you!" He was whispering, obviously not wanting to speak too loud. "Trust me!"

The Kougra paused, her sword poised dangerously above his head. Not moving an inch, she said, "Talk."

Hanso glanced nervously between the weapon and her, but put on a bit of a nervous grin and cleared his throat. "I'm trying to help you," He repeated, "But I need you to act like I'm not. And we probably shouldn't talk much longer."

Brynn glanced at her group, who were still fighting hard against Hanso's band of thieves. It was obvious he had not chosen the best for the job, though they were good enough to be a match to her guards. "Alright. I trust you. Go for the crown, I'll pretend to beat you off." She said, bringing her arm back to her side.

The Ixi's smile grew genuine as he raced off towards the caravan.

The sounds of battle echoed all around them now as they forced themselves through the crowd. The few neopets who lived on the street had shut their windows and boarded up their doors. Brynn shouted to her group to make sure none of the thieves made it close to the bystanders.

Hanso's hand was reaching for the crown.

Quickly and furiously she swung her sword centimeters from it, forcing him to flinch back and stare at her with surprise. "Part of the plan." Brynn mouthed, swinging her weapon around for another mock hit.

Her guards were forcing the thieves back inch by inch as the couple weaseled their way into the middle of the fight- the perfect place for a performance. As though they were speaking to each other in their heads, one glance was all it took to figure out the rest of their personal mission. Brynn aimed at his heart.

Time seemed to slow down as each of the thieves turned to look at what was happening between the two leaders, giving a chance for the guards to make their moves. By the time Hanso dodged out of the way, all the others in his gang were too preoccupied to even notice.

Cheers emitted from the Brightvale knights as the criminals were chased off. Brynn quickly appointed two of her men to chase after them and make sure they didn't come back. And with a wave of his hand, Hanso was off as well.

Her smile wasn't noticed by the other guards, for they were too busy celebrating and getting the caravan rolling again. Her prayer was unheard as well.

"Oh Fyora, please let him live."

-x-

Of course he had felt the need to stick around and see how the rest of the day panned out. The others didn't feel like asking why when he told them he was going to stay behind, they were ready to go home. It was dangerous standing outside the castle waiting for her, he knew, but after toying with death and slipping past once today, he was feeling rather invincible.

"Hanso?"

Her voice penetrated the darkness that had nearly put him to sleep. He gave her a tired smile. "Hey, Brynn. How'd it go?"

He hadn't actually finished his sentence before she threw her arms around him, but by the time the words had tumbled out of his mouth he figured it had gone very well.

"He promoted me to captain of the guards!" Brynn pulled away from the embrace so that he could see her huge smile. "I'm captain, Hanso! Me!"

As a thief, you knew a thing or two about law enforcers. And if his memory was serving correctly, Brynn was now second in command to only King Hagan himself. And she was only eighteen.

"Oh wow, that's amazing… Congratulations." He wasn't really sure what to say. In any other land, that would be a major accomplishment. But honestly, Brightvale guards weren't that impressive. Brynn was a rare gem, for sure. And yet, it was so important to her, Hanso felt himself smiling as well.

"I couldn't have done it without you." She said, surprising him so much he had to step back. "I mean, I don't know if I could have beaten you."

"Er, um…" He wasn't so sure that she was right about that. He had set out for her help knowing she was a formidable opponent and an even better accomplice, hadn't he?

It was awkwardly silent, so that they were both looking at the ground and chuckling out of anxiety now. Hanso couldn't stop thinking about how un-cool he probably seemed to her right now. Why couldn't he think of any witty remarks? Why didn't it seem as though his heart only wanted him to be closer to her?

"Look, there's going to be a ball tomorrow to celebrate. Do you think you'd like to go? With me?" She asked, glancing up so that their eyes met for a second before she looked back down again.

The question seemed to do it for Hanso. He had gotten rather quick over the years and grown used to acting on impulse, and so it was natural that he gave in and kissed her.

Seconds later, he was lying on the ground, winded.

"Are you mad?" She shouted, though she seemed worried as she leaned over him. "You should've remembered how I've been trained to react when someone jumps at me. I am a guard after all…"

"Yeah, that was pretty stupid." Hanso moaned, clutching his sore stomach.

"But…" She was quieter now, a trace of that ever-beautiful smile on her face, "I guess I can take that as a yes."


End file.
